Romney, Racism and the Mormon Church

Recently Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had a chance to address concerns about his Mormon faith and concerns about a racist doctrine the church abandoned when Romney was a 31-year-old man.

By dodging the question about his Mormon faith and race, Romney failed to address legitimate concerns voters may have; concerns about Romney’s biography, and Romney’s position on race relations.

At a Town Hall meeting in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a voter confronted Romney about controversial and racist teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, teachings the church officially abandoned in 1978.

The voter made a clumsy attempt to quote a passage from Mormon scripture – a verse from the Pearl of Great Price, a standard Mormon work, that clearly states that dark-skinned people are inferior to whites. Romney quickly cut the voter off. The following is a transcript of that exchange:

Voter: OK. Well, um, In the Mormon book, it says there were a blackness came upon all children of Canaan and.. Romney: [Talking over him] I’m sorry, we’re just not going to have a discussion about religion in my view, but I can—if you have a question, I can answer your question. Voter: I guess my question is, do you believe it is a sin for a white man to marry and procreate with a black woman? Romney: No. Next question.